Automobile vehicle.



No. 680,668. Patented' Aug. [3, I901.

v A. E. OSBORN.

AUTOMOBILE VEHICLE.

(Application filed Sept. 6, 1900.)

4 Sheets-Shoat I.

(No Model.)

' Halli/771m mulllli! @Wnm W m m mm A TTOHNEYS No. 680,668. PatentedAug. l3, 19m.

A. E. USBORN.

AUTOMOBILE VEHICLE.

(A pIicBtion 810d Sept. 6, 1900.) (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

WITNESSES BY A TTOHN Patented Aug. I3, [90L A. E. OSBORN.

AUTOMOBILE VEHICLE.

(Application filed Sept. 6, 1900.)

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

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No; 680,668. Patented Aug. I3, I90l. A. E. DSBDRN.

AUTOMOBILE VEHICLE.

(Apphcatmn filed Sept 6 1900) 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

' (No Modal.)

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A TTOHNEYS NITE S' T s ATENT ALDEN E. OSBORN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMOBILE VEHICLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 680,668, dated August13, 1901. Application filed September 6, 1900. Serial No. 29,170. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern:

I Be it known that I, ALDEN E. OSBORN, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of the city of New York, borough of the Bronx, county andState of New York, have invented a new and Improved Automobile Vehicle,of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to various improvements in the framing and otherparts of motor or automobile vehicles whereby'the heavy curved tubingand dangerous front fork hitherto used in three-wheeled frames are doneaway with and its cost is greatly reduced.

It also relates to means whereby seats and wagon-bodies may beeffectively and gracefully mounted and also changed from one position toanother to convert the vehicles accordingly.

The invention further contemplates improvements in the means formounting and operating the steering-wheel, all of which will bedescribed hereinafter and defined in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indi- Acate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side view of a two-seated vehicle embodying some of thefeatures of my invention. Fig; 2 is a plan of the same excepting thatthe body is removed. Fig. 3 is a side view of another form of the frame.Fig. 4 is a side view of still another form of the frame. Fig. 5 is aplan view of the device in Fig. 3, excepting that the seat is removed.Fig. 6 is a side View showing a wagonbody mounted in the frame shown inFigs. 3, 4, and 5. Fig. 7 is a partial plan and section of thesteering-wheel gear. Fig. Sis a detail section of a modification. Fig. 9is a view of a means of mounting the springs. Fig. 10 is a view of thepart that works with the device of Fig. 9, whereby the springs aresustained. Fig. 11 is a sectional view of the part shown in Fig. 9. Fig.12 is a further view of the part shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 13 is asectional view of the hub of the steering-wheel. Fig. let is a sectionalView of a modification of the same. Fig. 15 is a sectional view of amodification of the same. Fig. 16 is a sectional view of the form shownin Fig. 13. Fig. 17

frame at the rear of the seat.

is a detail view showing one way of removably attaching a seat for athird or fourth person. Fig. 18 is a detail of another way of attachingsaid additional seat. Figs. 19 and 20 are details of devices enteringinto Figs. 17 and 18. Fig. 21 is a side view of a further form offraming, and Figs. 22, 23, and 24 are details of the same.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the vehicle has a single front wheel 24, whichconstitutes the steering or pilot wheel, and two rear wheels 25, servingas traction-wheels and driven by a motor 29, which may be of any form.The frame is triangular in general contour and is composed of main sidebars 26, joined to the front and rear axles and braced by cross-bars 2Sand diagonal tie-rods 27'. Springs 30 are supported on the frontand rearaxles and in turn sustain a body 31, arranged with seats for one or twopersons, as desired.

In Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 the two front wheels 25 are traction-wheelsdriven by a motor 29, and the single 'rear or trailing wheel 24 is thepilot-wheel. The framing is essentially the same as in Figs. 1 and 2,except that it is reversed, and it therefore has side bars 26 cross-bars2S, and diagonal tie-rods 27. In Fig. 3 the vehicle has a seat 31 overthe front axle, and this seat is sustained on elliptical springs 30 atthe front and by coilsprings 33 encircling rods 32, standing on the InFig. 4 the vehicle has two seats 31, the front for two persons and therear for one person, The seats 31 are sustained byelliptioal springs 3Oon the front and rear axles and by coilsprings 33 on rods 32 between theseats. In Fig. 6 the vehicle has a wagon-body 31, supported on the frameby elliptical springs 30 These views show the various forms that myinvention may assume and illustrate the adaptability of the single formof frame to many diverse styles of vehicles.

Figs. 21, 22, 23, and 2 1 illustrate further improvements in theframing, which contemplate a duplex structure adaptable to heavy work.This framing has two side bars 26 at each side arranged one above theother. At the rear these side bars are curved around rearward of theaxles, two below and two above the same, curved extensions 34 joiningthe side bars in horizontal pairs and being fastened to the rear axleand to the motor or motor-gearing 29 by clips 35. At the front the sidebars 26 are joined at each side in pairs by connecting-castings 36, intowhich the ends of the bars are fitted and secured. On the castings 36the elliptical springs 30 are mounted, and these carry the wagon body orseats, part of which is indicated at 31 in Fig. 21.

The hub of the pilot or steering wheel is mounted on a stationary axle37 by various devices, as shown in Figs. 13 and 16 and 14 and 15. withball-bearings to turn around a cylindrical shell 38, which is fittedwithin the hub. The shell 38 is held by a pin 39 to oscillate on theaxle 37 around the axis of the pin, the pin passing transversely throughthe axle and the shell being fitted with ball-bearings, which sustainit, and consequently the wheel itself, on the axle. The shell 38 forms,therefore, a supplemental axle, and this in turn oscillates on the mainaxle, carrying with it the pilotrwheel, whereby to swerve the same andsteer the vehicle. In Fig. 14 the shell 38, carrying the pilot-wheelhub, is mounted to oscillate in the axle 37 by means of an interiorstub-shaft or journal 40, which is fitted by ball-bearings to turn in acavity in the axle 37, a pin or bolt 39 being passed through the shelland stub-shaft to hold them together. In Fig. 15 the shell 38", carryingthe wheel-hub, is fitted by ball-bearings to turn on diametricallyopposite stubs 41, formed on the axle 37 and disposed transverselythereto. In all forms of the steering device an arm 42 is attached tothe shell 38, 38*, or 38", and by swinging this arm the shell may beturned whereby to turn the pilot-wheel. Any desired means may beconnected with the arm 42 to facilitate turning the same at the will ofthe driver of the vehicle, such means therefore extending to the bodyportion in ready reach of the person therein.

In the forms of the invention shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 thesteering-wheel axle 37 may be attached to the front ends of the sidebars of the frame either as shown in Fig. 7 or in Fig. 8-in Fig. 7 bysockets 43, formed in the ends of the axle, and in which the caperedends 44 of the side bars 26 are fastened by nuts working in the ends ofthe side bars, and in Fig. 8 by sockets 43, in which the tapered ends 44of the side bars 26 are fastened by a wedge or wedges 46, pushed intoplace by nuts 45 working in the ends of the side bars. The nuts 45 maybe provided with a flanged collar, (not shown,) the flange of which fitsinto grooves on the inside of the wedges 46, so that the wedges may beeasily removed by removing the nuts. In both cases the axle 37 becomes apart of the frame, since it joins the side bars 26 thereof. In the formof the invention shown in Figs. 21, 22, 23, and 24 the axle 37 of thepilot or steering wheel is fastened at its ends to the con- In Figs. 13and 16 the hub is fitted slots 49.

necting-castings 36 and serves to join these parts rigidly together, asshown in Fig. 22.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6, the springs 30, (and the exponentsthereof,) which are located adjacent to the steering or pilot wheel, aremounted 011 extensions 47, projected from the ends of the axles 37 orfrom the side bars 26 of the frame. Figs. 9, 10, 11, and 12 show anothermeans of supporting the springs at the pilot-wheel, which means consistin extensions 48, formed on the ends of the axle 37 and provided withinclined keyhole-slots 49 in their ends, wherein are respectively fittedcorrespondingly-shaped projections 50 on the holders 51 of the springs.

Thumb-screws 52 are provided for the projections 51 and serve to clampthe projections against walls 53, formed at the ends of the By thesescrews the spring-holders 51 are kept in place.

In the form of the invention shown in Fig. 4 the rear seat 31 may bemade removable, and in this case it is fastened by the devices shown inFigs. 17, 18, 19, and 20. This means comprises bars 54, which arefastened to the front seat and to the rear springs 3O by clips 55. Therear seat has socket-pieces 57 thereon, which receive the ends of thebars 54 and in which the bars are held by nuts 60, screwing on the bars.

Diagonalguideways 56 are fastened to the rear seat forward of the socketpieces 57 and are engaged by the wedgeshaped ears 59- on collars 58,fastened to the bars 54, whereby the bars and guideways are securedtogether. A wagon-body 31 may be fitted over the front seat and used inplace of the rear seat 31", as shown in Fig. 18, and this is held inplace by the same devices shown in Fig. 17, to which are added an extracollar 58 and guideway 56 (See Figs. 1.7 and 18.) The bars 54 arefastened in the front seat (see Fig. 18) by socket-pieces 62, held bythe seat and receiving conical parts 63 on the bars 54. Brace-sleeves 64extend between the socket-pieces 62, and nuts 65, working on the ends ofthe bars 54, serve to tighten the various parts together.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. An automobile vehicle having a long axle, a shortaxle, a duplex frame comprising upper and lower sections disposedrespectively above and below the long axle and fastened thereto, each.section being connected in rear of the long axle by curved extensionsand connections extending between the upper and lower sections at eachside of the vehicle and to which theshort axle is fastened.

2. A vehicle having frame side bars, and an axle formed with sockets inits ends, in which sockets the ends of the frame side bars are fittedand secured.

3. In a vehicle, an axle provided with a tapering socket in each end,and frame side bars having tapering ends fitting in the sockets of theaxle, and means for securing the ends of the frame in said sockets,substantially as described.

4:. A vehicle having a duplex frame formed of upper and lower sections,each section having its bars connected in rear of the rearaxle,oonnections extending between the front ends of the sections ateach side of the frame, and an axle fastened rigidly to the connectionsand forming a part of the frame.

5. A vehicle, a support, an arm or exten sion projecting from thesupport and formed with a slot or recess therein, a spring-holder havinga stud fitting in the slot or recess, and means for securing said studin the said recess orslot.

6. A vehicle having a frame, a stationary axle fastened thereto andhaving an arm or extension projected beyond the frame, and aspring-holder carried on the arm or extension.

7. In a vehicle, means for removably joining two parts thereof,comprising a bar having one end connected to one part and having nearits other end a member formed with wedge-shaped or diagonal ears, aguideway fastened to the other part and receiving the said ears, andmeans for forcing and holding the cars into the guideway.

8. A vehicle having a bar serving removably to carry a seat or otherpart, the bar having an enlargement, two socket-pieces fastened to thevehicle and into which the bar is extended,the enlargement bearing intoone socket-piece, and means at the other socketpiece for holding the barengaged therewith.

9. In a vehicle, the combination with the front and rear seats, of barshaving one end secured to the front seat, and provided near their otherends with wedge shaped ears, socket-pieces on the rear seat and withwhich the ends of the bars engage, diagonal guideways also on the rearseat and with which the said ears engage, and nuts on the ends of thebars, substantially as described.

10. In a vehicle,the combination of a frame, a short axle having at itsends means for fixedly securing it to the frame, a shell, a pin passingthrough the shell and axle at the center of length thereof,ball-bearings between the shell and axle, a wheel having its hub mountedon the shell, and balLbearings between the shell and hub, substantiallyas de scribed.

11. In a vehicle, the combination with an axle adapted to have its endsfixedly secured to a frame, and provided with a cavity at the center oflength, a stub-shaft mounted to turn in the cavity of the axle, a shell,a pin pass ing through the shell and stub-shaft, and a wheel having itshub mounted on the shell, substantially as described.

12. In avehicle,the combination withframebars, of an axle provided atits ends with sockets in which the ends of the frame-bars are secured, ashell mounted on the axle to oscillate on a transverse axis, and a wheelhaving its hub mounted on the shell, substan* tially as described.

13. In a vehicle, the combination of an axle provided with an arm havinga keyhole-slot, a spring-holder, provided with a projection fitting insaid slot, and means for locking the projection in the slot,substantially as de scribed.

14. In a vehicle, the combination with a long axle having a wheel ateach end, framebars having one end secured to the said axle andconverging toward each other at their other ends, a short axle havingsockets at its ends in which the ends of the said converging bars aresecured, a shell mounted to turn on an axis transverse to the axle, anda Wheel having its hub mounted on the shell, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALDEN E. OSBORN.

IVitnesses: V

I. B. OWENs, J NO. M. BITTER.

